Home loan pre-approval lets you shop for property with confidence, because it gives you the "green light" from a lender that – provided your situation doesn't change – you're likely to be approved for a home loan.
Is it compulsory? Absolutely not. In fact, not every lender even offers pre-approval.
But here's the thing: walking into an open home with a formal pre-approval and a deposit ready to go shows the seller that you are a serious buyer. If you make an offer, it could give you a better chance of having the offer accepted over other buyers, who may not be as organised with finance.
Pre-approval gives you a better idea of how much a lender is willing to lend you, and it's also very useful if you're buying a property at auction, because it gives you a firm upper limit to your bidding.
If your pre-approval taps out at $700,000, and you have a 10% deposit worth $70k, then you know your bidding limit is a maximum of $770,000.
Overall, a pre-approved buyer stands out from those that aren't pre-approved, and can make all the difference come auction day. So how does it actually work?
Pre-approval is a formal document prepared by a lender. It's an indication of how much money a lender is willing to lend you for a home loan. It's sometimes called conditional approval, or approval-in-principle.
Pre-approval requires a brief application, typically online (although some lenders require an in-person consultation) involving some identification and financial information.
Keep in mind that a home loan pre-approval is not the same as being approved for an actual mortgage. It is possible to get pre-approved by a lender, only to be rejected at the actual application stage – but this is generally only likely to happen if your situation substantially changes in between. For instance, if you change jobs and your income declines, that could impact your approval.
Pre-approval brings the following benefits:
With many lenders offering online pre-approval, the whole process of applying can take as little as a few hours.
Online pre-approval is usually a system-generated process that is very quick, but doesn't involve a qualified credit assessor reviewing your pre-approval application.
Some lenders may offer this, while others may require a fuller assessment that involves a lender's credit department. This usually involves a credit report.
While the process can be fast, getting an official letter of pre-approval from your lender may take days, if not weeks, depending on how busy the lender is. During the Covid pandemic in 2020, some lenders took up to 2 months to process a pre-approval.
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| Response | WA | VIC | SA | QLD | NSW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In a branch | 51.24% | 51.16% | 56.99% | 49.77% | 49.85% |
| Online | 34.71% | 36.63% | 29.03% | 38.25% | 34.25% |
| Other | 9.09% | 5.94% | 9.68% | 5.99% | 5.2% |
| Over the phone | 4.13% | 3.63% | 3.23% | 5.07% | 6.42% |
| Via an app | 0.83% | 2.64% | 1.08% | 0.92% | 4.28% |
Most lenders will issue you a pre-approval that lasts three months. This gives you time to hunt for properties and get your actual application together. The expiry date is usually listed on your pre-approval letter, and once this date lands, you'll need to apply for pre-approval again.
Not all lenders offer pre-approval, but here's a list of some who do:
Follow these steps to get your mortgage pre-approval:
You should get pre-approval once you've done your initial research. You should already have an idea of your borrowing power, your price range and the areas you're looking to buy in. Once you start looking seriously at properties with the intent to purchase then it is time for pre-approval.
A pre-approval is not a formal home loan application, but the lender still makes a credit enquiry. This is recorded on your credit file and can have a negative impact on your credit score if you apply for multiple home loans in a short amount of time.
Multiple enquiries makes it look like you're planning to take out too many loans at once. This is a red flag for the lender you do eventually go with.
When the lender checks your credit score, your pre-approval application will show up as an enquiry. For instance, it will show:
Lenders up until recently did not know whether applicants had been approved or declined for credit (they couldn't see the outcome of the enquiry). They would just assume that an applicant had been declined, as this would explain why they had applied for multiple pre-approvals.
Today, this information is being slowly collected and displayed in credit files, so this isn't as much of a problem, but applying for multiple mortgage pre-approvals can still indicate to lenders that you are experiencing financial stress.
As a result, lenders may view you as a high-risk borrower and be reluctant to grant you full loan approval.
Once you find a property to buy, you need to get full or unconditional approval. This requires a more detailed application. Then you need to provide a contract of sale and the lender must conduct a valuation of the property and be satisfied that you haven't paid too much for the property
Once your application is approved it's time to draw up the loan documents. You’ll need to read your loan contract carefully before signing, and your lender will check that you’ve filled out everything correctly.
Your conveyancer or solicitor can then review the contract of sale, before you and the seller can sign a copy. Once a settlement date has been arranged, your lender will provide confirmation of your loan details. This is also the time at which you can expect to be charged for stamp duty and registration costs.
At settlement the property is yours and it’s time to start paying off your loan.
Image: Shutterstock
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need apply for motgage
Hi Nyasha,
We do not offer home loans but if you are looking for options, you can check our comparison table. Once you’ve chosen a particular loan, click the Go to site icon. You’ll be directed to the lender’s website where you can start your application.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Richard
Can you opt out of getting a loan after you have filled out all the paperwork for the loan and have been given a verbal that the loan is pre-approved subject to the lender (St George) evaluating all the paperwork and doing a valuation of the property in question?
Hi Julie,
thanks for the question.
Home loan pre-approval is in many cases obligation-free, meaning that you can cancel it if you no longer require it or have found a better deal. The exact nature of a pre-approval agreement differs on a case-by-case basis depending on the lender, so I would recommend contacting St.George directly to find out if you can opt out.
I hope this helps,
Marc.